Saturday, June 27, 2009

ABOUT THE BOOK:Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father, who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, academic triumphs, heroism during Vietnam, friendships with Kissinger and the Pope. As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict). Later, she lucks into the perfect job--interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars. But while researching an article on her dad's life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he's not the man he says he is--not even close. Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them--herself.ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Laurie Sandell is a contributing editor at Glamour, where she writes cover stories, features, and personal essays. She has also written for Esquire, GQ, New York and In Style, among others. In her twenties, she spent four years traveling around the world, having unsavory experiences she later justified as "material."

JULIE AND JULIAby Julie Powell

ABOUT THE BOOK:Julie & Julia, the bestselling memoir that's "irresistible....A kind of Bridget Jones meets The French Chef" (Philadelphia Inquirer), is now a major motion picture. Julie Powell, nearing thirty and trapped in a dead-end secretarial job, resolves to reclaim her life by cooking in the span of a single year, every one of the 524 recipes in Julia Child's legendary Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Her unexpected reward: not just a newfound respect for calves' livers and aspic, but a new life-lived with gusto. The film version is written and directed by Nora Ephron and stars Amy Adams as Julie and Meryl Streep as Julia.ABOUT THE AUTHOR:After spending a long, long time working as a temp, Julie Powell now writes in her pajamas at her home in Queens, New York, and occasionally serves as a butcher's apprentice.

THANKS TO ANNA AND THEHACHETTE BOOK GROUP,I HAVE 5 COPIES OF EACHBOOK TO GIVE AWAY!

IN YOUR COMMENTS, PLEASE TELL MEWHICH BOOK YOU WOULD LIKE TOWIN THE MOST...ONE LUCKYPERSON WILL WIN BOTHMEMOIRS SO ENTER BYJULY 18 AND BE SURE ANDFOLLOW THE SIMPLE RULES!

RULES:--U.S. and CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY--NO P.O. BOXES, PLEASE--ALL ENTRIES MUST BE IN SEPARATECOMMENTS IN ORDER TO COUNT--YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS MUST BE INYOUR COMMENT SO I CAN CONTACTYOU WHEN YOU WIN!!!

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT AND TELL WHICH OF THE TWO MEMOIRS YOU WANT+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG ABOUT THIS CONTEST OR TWEET AND LEAVE A LINK IN YOUR COMMENT (THANK YOU IF YOU DO BOTH BUT ONLY ONE WILL COUNT TO BE FAIR TO ALL AS SOME DON'T HAVE BLOGS BUT THEY CAN TWEET)+1 MORE ENTRY: FOLLOW WITH MY GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT IN THE LEFT COLUMN OR TELL ME IF YOU ALREADY FOLLOW THERE--EVERYONE CAN DO THIS AND IT IS EASY (AM TRYING TO HIT 300 SOME DAY)

That's a tough question...I've been wanting to read Julie & Julia since seeing the movie previews (I'd actually bought it for a friend a while ago and now I'm wishing I'd read it first), but I love the cover of the Imposter's Daughter and it sounds like such a great read. I think I'd like the Imposter's Daughter the most though...

My first choice is JULIE & JULIA. I'd really like to read this book before I see the movie, and time is running out! With Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the film, and Nora Ephron directing (producing?) I'm going to be there on opening day, hopefully having read the book!